


Control

by thatonenerdygeek



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Atlas CEO Rhys, Basically, Bet you didn't expect that did ya, Dom/sub Undertones, Eventual Smut, M/M, PA Jack, Pre-Sequel Jack, Unhealthy Relationships, slight Manipulation, sort of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-22
Updated: 2017-07-21
Packaged: 2018-12-05 06:49:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11572635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatonenerdygeek/pseuds/thatonenerdygeek
Summary: After being Atlas' new CEO for almost two years, Rhys is starting to realize he can't do everything on his own anymore. So, that brings him to start his search for a new PA to work beside him. Little does he know that hiring the perfect PA would be far more dangerous than he was anticipating.





	Control

**Author's Note:**

> Oh. Hello there. Hi. Yeah. This is a little short. And probably a little all over the place. And probably totally unnecessary to post since I have so many other fics to work on. But I just. I couldn't get this idea out of my head. I literally don't even have an idea for a plot yet. Well. I kind of do. Maybe. Not really. So, you guys get to come along for this crazy ride!
> 
> This...'chapter' is more of a prologue. The actual story begins a couple weeks after this takes place, which will be in the next chapter!
> 
> Follow my Tumblr and come say hi! <https://hancock4prez.tumblr.com/>

Rhys was powerful. He felt like he had the universe at his fingertips. And hey, maybe he did. Atlas was the number one weapons manufacturer and has been for...almost a year now? Ah, that really boosted Rhys’ ego. A lot. Maliwan was the reigning champion for yeaaaaars. But then Rhys became CEO and all of that changed. Atlas’ fame suddenly skyrocketed now that a new ‘pretty face’ was running the company. And Rhys couldn’t deny that. His face was definitely pretty. And he used that to his advantage during his first few months in power. He hired the best photographers he could find and went to work on promotional posters, launching a new website on the ECHOnet, anything he could think of to put his face out there. And it actually worked. He got calls to do radio interviews, he was getting asked by shops to start selling Atlas weaponry and he even did a rather popular livestream with some famous host that Rhys couldn’t be bothered to remember the name of. 

But Atlas’ new found fame didn’t come without downsides. One of them being that he was targeted more often. Which...eh, Rhys was fine with. He had his knife, stun baton and pistol with him at all times anyway. Granted, that didn’t help him against the occasional bomb threat but still. They were just threats. No one was stupid enough to actually follow through with the threats. Yet, at least. 

Another downside was the shit ton of work he had to do now. Before, he was perfectly content handling everything himself. He preferred it that way. He didn’t really trust anyone else to do his work for him, not when it came to his company. But eventually, he was just going to have to give up and let someone else take a bit of the control. 

Which...brought him to his struggle now. The only people who wanted to be his PA were, so far, people who only cared about getting close to him because of his looks and the pay. He wasn’t gonna deal with that. He wanted someone to be serious about dealing with paperwork, meetings, scheduling shit. If they were just there because they thought he was good looking and liked how much they would be paid, what good would that do him?

“Yeah, no. You don’t even need to speak. Just leave.” Rhys rested his head on his palm, staring at the girl who walked into his office with raised eyebrows. Her tits looked like they were about to fall out of her dress, which was also far too tight for his liking. She made her intentions clear. And they were made even more clear when she pouted and put her hands on her hips defiantly.

“What? Not good enough for you? This is my best dress!”

“You look like you should be handing out cards for Hollow Point’s shadiest brothel. Are you really going to make me repeat myself?”

Thankfully, the woman was at least smart enough to take the hint and leave, though not without huffing loudly and stomping her foot before turning around. Ugh, he was getting a migraine.

Leaning back in his chair, Rhys pressed his fingertips to his temples and rubbed slowly, hoping that would take away some of the pain. Who knew this would be so difficult? This just wasn’t fair. How hard was it to find a decent person to work for him? These people were coming from all over the friggin’ galaxy and he still couldn’t find someone good enough. Why did he attract the worst kind of people? Yeah, he was good looking and yeah, Atlas’ typical salary was higher than others but _still_. There had to be someone out there that actually wanted to do the work he needed.

And just as he was about to start praying to whatever deities that would listen to him, it seemed like his prayers were already being answered.

As Rhys opened his eyes, they landed on a man. Much older than the others he had seen so far. Maybe in his forties or late thirties, if he guessed correctly. But fit. From what he could tell, at least. He seemed strong enough to hold his own. Rhys liked that. He also liked how goddamn gorgeous this guy was. Like he was sculpted from friggin’ stone. Agh, but no. He couldn’t get involved with anyone working for him. Wait, was he already considering hiring this guy? Fuck, he didn’t even know his name yet. He didn’t know anything about this guy and he was already-

“Uh, you there, cupcake?”

Rhys’ eye twitched in annoyance. Of course. Of course this guy was too good to be true. With a hard glare, Rhys sat up properly and gestured towards the seat in front of him before crossing his arms. “Not off to a good start, addressing me like that.”

Instead of apologizing, the guy just shrugged and walked over to the desk. And instead of sitting down like a normal person, this... _fucking_ guy had the nerve to spin the chair around and then sit. Backwards. So his chest was pressing against the back of the chair. What the fuck, was this guy high on something? Or did he really just not give two shits about how immature he looked? In front of Rhys, of all people. 

“So, you’re lookin’ for a PA, right, kid?” God, Rhys wanted to smack that grin right off his stupid handsome face. But he kept his cool for the time being. This guy still had the potential to be good. Even though he was already getting on his nerves.

With a loud sigh, Rhys nodded his head and went through his whole spiel yet again. “You’ll be required to work from 8 to 8 every weekday with two breaks in between, one for lunch and one for dinner, each half an hour. Weekends will be up in the air, it just depends on what I have going on those days but you’ll still get paid for whatever hours you do work. Your responsibilities include being in charge of my scheduling, being with me at meetings and events, sending any paperwork my way and labeling them from most important to least important. There may be other shit but I’ve never done this before so I’m not sure what else there would be yet.” The information was ended with a simple shrug, leaving Rhys to lean back again with an almost bored look on his face. Yeah, there was no way this guy was gonna be okay with all of that. He seemed like he’s a ‘I do things how I want and when I want’ kind of guy. There’s no way-

“12 hour work days? And a total of a one hour break each day? Damn, kid.” The man laughed, loud and hearty. And Rhys almost wanted to blush in embarrassment. Was that really so bad? 

“I work long days. I need someone who’s willing to work them with me, Mr...Jack?” Rhys blinked in confusion as he pulled forward the paper set in front of him. Pictured was the same man that was in front of him, along with basic information but not much else. Jack. 41. Male. Worked at Hyperion for 10+ years as a programmer before quitting two years ago. Marital status wasn’t filled out. Has one child. Born and raised on Tantalus, lived on Helios while he worked for Hyperion and only recently moved to Pandora. But that was it. Frowning, Rhys glanced back up at the man in front of him. “You forgot to fill out your last name.”

“You don’t need to know it.” The man, ‘Jack’, shot finger guns his way with a shark-like grin. God, this guy was...weird.

But, Rhys felt like he could move passed the weirdness for now. Looking back at the paper again, he pointed to his previous jobs. “So, you worked at Hyperion for over ten years? I have to commend you for your commitment. I couldn’t see myself working in data mining for over ten years.”

“Eh. It was a solid job. Hated Tassiter’s friggin’ guts but he paid well.”

“Why did you decide to quit?”

“...That’s personal.”

“Hm.” Rhys eyed Jack suspiciously. Again, weird. But...he did have decent experience. And he definitely had the ability to commit to a job. But was he willing to do everything Rhys was asking for? That was the question. “So...you used to work for my rival. How do I know you’re willing to actually work for me instead of working for me as...say, a Hyperion spy.”

Jack’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, clearly not expecting that kind of question. But he still laughed. As if it was such a stupid question. “I’m done with Hyperion, pumpkin. I’d much rather get revenge on them rather than work as a friggin’ spy. The work days are long, it sounds like. But everything else sounds pretty solid. If you can cut the work hours for a single father, I’ll take the job.”

T...Take the job? Wait. Seriously? Did Rhys seriously find someone fit to be his PA? Holy shit! _No, fuck, calm down, Rhys_. Letting out a slow breath, Rhys laced his fingers together and leaned forward. “Alright. I’m busier during the day so...I think I can cut your hours down to...8-5? Would that work? You wouldn’t get the dinner break though, obviously. U-Uh...how old is your daughter? Does she have someone that can look after her for that time?”

“Whoa, okay, one question at a time, dollface. Yes, that’s fine. She’s 16. And while she would probably prefer to look after herself, I have my brother to look after her while I’m working. That’s not a problem. So, what do ya say, kitten?” God, Jack really needed to stop with the nicknames. Unless he really wanted to see Rhys go insane. Which he already felt like he was. All of this work, all of this trouble and then...all of a sudden, the perfect fit for the job waltzes in? Was he dreaming? What the hell was going on? Why did this only take...like, what, five minutes? Not even? 

“I see the gears turning there, Mr. CEO. Lemme guess, long day?” Rhys only offered a grunt in response, still trying to wrap his mind around what was happening.

The two dove into some small talk while Rhys was still trying to find out what he was going to do. Despite his attitude, Jack was surprisingly easy to talk to. They talked about Pandora, how terrible it was and how Jack would love to make it better one day. They talked about how Jack got interested in Atlas, and was completely unable to hide his blush when Jack admitted to finding Rhys totally fuckable at first. Jack, the asshole, couldn’t stop laughing for a whole three minutes when he saw Rhys’ reaction. Asshole.

But...this is the other thing Rhys had wanted in a PA. Someone he could easily talk to. Someone who wasn’t too uptight but also someone who would do their work well. And Jack...well, he seemed to tick off all of the boxes. Rhys didn’t know how he got this lucky, to find the _perfect_ PA. But he wasn’t gonna question it. He was just gonna be happy about it and move on.

“Alright, I...okay. Can you start tomorrow? I have a shipment coming in tomorrow that I need you to oversee, make sure everything is picked up and put away properly.”

“Can do, pumpkin.”

“Stop with the nicknames or you’ll be fired tomorrow morning.”


End file.
